D80 vs D100 vs D1X

Question

I would like to buy a second body, I currently have Nikon D40, which sadly doesn't have servo motor for lenses, so I can only use AF-S lenses. It also cannot do metering on non-AF lenses.

I'm a hobbyist and my fiancee is too, but we'd like to have a second body so each of us can take one body if we want to go to separate places. I'd like to have an older body

I don't have a lot of money in my photo budget (about 300 EUR = $400), so I was browsing ebay and local ads, and found these options (compared to D40):

• D80 - has servo, 10 MP, more solid plastic body, more focus points, 0.66 kg weight, same generation as D40
• D100 - metal body, has servo, meters with a lot of lenses, but
• D1X - huge metal body, 1.1 kg weight, supports and meters any lenses from AI up. Better viewfinder, and full-size sensor.

With D100 and D1 I could get bunch of old manual lenses. I actually have some old manual lenses, but they are very hard to work with on D40 (as it can't meter with old lenses)

I know that D1 is a boat anchor, but I've held it in my hands and it fits. It was kind of my dream camera since I learned about it.

I'm not going pro or anything, I have a job in entirely different profession. I only take pictures for the joy of it. I mostly don't need to shoot fast-moving stuff like sports, so using older, lower tech camera would be OK with me.

What would you recommend?

Answer

Firstly the D1X doesn't have a full size (35mm) sensor it's a 1.5 crop like the others. It's also getting pretty old now so unless you really need what it specifically offers (i.e. build quality) I would look elsewhere. Cameras have come on a long way in the last ten years, image quality wise I would expect it to be blown out of the water by the current entry level models. By image quality I mean resolution, sharpness, colour reproduction and noise.

Same applies to the D100 to an extent. You'd be surprised by what basic features are missing from even pro level bodies that are a certain age. I'm not a Nikon shooter so hopefully someone else can give you some other alternatives with regard to lens compatibility, but my advice would be to look for something released in the last four years.

I know you're only doing this as a hobby and so maybe image quality doesn't matter, however I speak from experience when I recommend you get the newest body you can. I recently upgraded from a 1D mkII to a mkIV, a gap of about 5 years in terms of camera developments. Instantly I found the new body is just so much nicer to use, the controls are laid out better and more logically, there are loads of useful settings that were missing before. The screen is so much better I don't know how I coped with the tiny low res screen on the mkII. Battery life is also better, partially because of newer technology and partially because the original battery is worn out.

At the end of the day a body that is pleasant and fun to use is the important thing. If the new body is a pain to use compared to your D40, you wont look forward to using it and wont get good pictures.

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